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Jay Godla joins Highmark as executive vice president and chief strategy officer

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Highmark Inc. today announced the appointment of Jayanth (Jay) Godla as executive vice president and chief strategy officer. In this role, Mr. Godla will lead Highmark's long-range strategic planning efforts and identify future growth and affiliation opportunities.

Mr. Godla will report to William Winkenwerder , M.D., Highmark's president and chief executive officer.

Since 2011, Mr. Godla served as head of enterprise strategy at Aetna in Hartford, Conn., where he was responsible for developing corporate strategy, managing the company's strategic planning process and driving the implementation of key strategic initiatives. In addition, from 2009-11, he served as global markets and strategy leader for Aon Hewitt. Prior to his work at Aon Hewitt, Mr. Godla served as a senior-level consultant at McKinsey & Company (2004-09), PricewaterhouseCoopers (1998-2003) and Deloitte and Touche (1997-98).

"Highmark continues to evolve from a health insurer to a diversified health services company that includes the delivery of care, and the successful execution of our business strategy is critical to our long-term growth," said Dr Winkenwerder. "Our aim is to make health care affordable and accessible for our members. As we face the many challenges ahead, it's imperative that we deal effectively with the changing dynamics of the marketplace. I'm very pleased that Jay Godla has joined our senior leadership team. Jay's background and experience in strategic planning, as well as management and health care consulting, are extensive. We look forward to his contributions as part of Highmark's senior leadership team."

Mr. Godla received his master's of business administration degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. In addition, he received a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Toledo in 1997 and a bachelor's degree in technology from Sri Venkateswara University's College of Engineering in Tirupati, India in 1993.

About Highmark
Highmark Inc. is a national diversified health and wellness company based in Pittsburgh that serves 34.4 million people across the United States through its businesses in health insurance, dental insurance, vision care, information technology and integrated health care delivery. The company, which has more than 20,000 employees, is among the largest health insurers in the U.S. and the fourth-largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield-affiliated company. Highmark operates health insurance plans in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia that serve 4.9 million members.

The company also offers health and wellness products to clients with employees throughout the country and is a recognized leader in reinsurance. In addition, Highmark operates more than 600 optical retail stores (Visionworks) and four U.S.-based eyewear manufacturing facilities. Highmark is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.

SOURCE Highmark Inc.